


Escape the Whirlwind.

by Graphiteandhumanity



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Autistic Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms), Cuddling & Snuggling, Disassociation, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:22:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28828101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Graphiteandhumanity/pseuds/Graphiteandhumanity
Summary: Reggie doesn't think his homelife is that bad, other kids have it worse, he should be Greatful. But that doesn't help when the yelling reaches his limit, and he wants nothing more to escape the Whirlwind inside his head.And the escape, it appears, is Luke.
Relationships: Luke Patterson & Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms), Luke Patterson/Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms), Reggie Peters & Reggie Peters's Parents (Julie and The Phantoms)
Kudos: 92





	Escape the Whirlwind.

One tear fell and the others were fast to follow.  
He could feel the anger, the tense grip on the household even from his room.

He stares, eyes unfocused into the darkness of his room, and listens to the faint sounds of tv from the lounge, and thunk as his neighbour takes the trash out.  
He feels stupid, even as the cold grip of resentment bursts in his chest. They don't hit him, and it's not this harsh and angry all the time. But his mind holds onto the feeling of his heart thumping in his chest as his mother screams I'm frustration, hitting the countertop first with whatever she was holding and then with her hands.  
He tried to help, he tried to get directions, to help with the dishes or dinner or maybe just send her to sit down and he'll figure it out.  
But no, he hadn't done it before so now he's left it all to her and he can't help, he can't do anything and he should just fucking leave her to her fucking work because she's so fucking angry.

Because noone fucking helps her.

He clutches his arms tightly to himself, nails digging in, grounding him even while his mind threatens to float away.  
He wanted to help, his dad was watching tv, his dad had just wanted them to keep it the hell down so he could watch his show.  
And noone fucking helps his mom.

Sinking into his bed, the rushing in his ears drowning out the noises of his parents downstairs. Now flat on his back he scrunches his hands into fists around his ears, a warm and sticking feeling follows. He just wants quiet, he wants the world to slow down because he suddenly feels like he's spinning with is but can't keep up. Different parts of his body thump with his heart as adrenaline fades to anxiety. 

God the quiet won't reach him in here, where he's surrounded by the oppressive air of failure and pathetic feelings. They don't hit him, they don't even call him pathetic, that's all him.  
They're just.. frustrated.

The rushing in his ears gets louder and the sticky feeling on his fingers become unbearable. He launched back off his bed and in a frantic haze of, quiet, just get some quiet, he grabs his flannel shirt and steers himself through his house, down the stairs and out the front door, too hazy to even see if his parents try to stop him.  
They probably won't even notice he'd left.

He fisted hand beats a messy rhythm in his thigh as he stumbles towards his bike, before he throws a leg over and grips the handlebars, and rides off into the night.

As he rides, the ocean wind freezes his bare arms and threatens to pull his flannel shirt off his waist. His throughs are frantic and muddled and he doesn't really understand where he's going until his chilled hand knocks on Luke's front door.

It's Luke that answers, his face switching from confused to excited to concerned faster than he could comprehend, and the hand freshly hitting his thigh sped up in time with his anxieties.

"Hey, Reggie, man, you good?" He reaches a hand out, and then apparently thinks better of it, stepping in to make room for Reggie to enter the home.  
He turns his head, "Hey ma! Reggie's here, we're gonna go up to my room," and doesn't wait for an answer before Luke's gently herding him up the stairs. 

He sits on his friends bed.  
He can't really figure out what's happened to get him here or what's happening now, but the whirlwind in his head is threatening to overwhelm him and he's aching for the support of his bestfriend beside him.

It comes in the form of a warm but calloused hand closing itself around his, still moving against his thigh, the other falls lifeless in his lap. 

"Hey," his voice is soft, softer that Reggie thinks he's ever heard it, and it pulls something out of him that he's been working so hard to keep at bay.

Reggie let's out a whine and draws his shoulders too his ears, tensing up.

"Hey, hey, hey," he squeezed his hand,  
"You're okay man, you're here, with me. You're safe."

Reggie wants to dispute with the fact he wasn't unsafe before, but he recalls the fog of anger and his sticky hands and stays silent.  
They sit together as Reggie tries and fails to collect his thoughts, and everytime he tries to speak it's like the words fall out of his head and all his voice can illicit is an increasingly frantic whine.

Eventually, it seems like Luke decides hrs had enough of letting Reggie try and sort himself out, and instead he takes their conjoined hands, and gently explains, "I'm going to lay us down okay? And I'm gonna give you a hug, is that alright?" 

Even with no response, Luke does as he said, watching Reggie for any signs of distress and he lowers them both down into the mattress, face to face. Reggie is still just trying to understand why heel feels like he's sinking and floating and freezing and burning all at once.

Once settled, Luke pulls Reggie's head to his chest, and intertwined their legs. His lithe fingers thread through Reggie's still windswept hair, and his quiet humming of a tune reverberates through his chest.  
He surrounds Reggie with warmth, and the prickling urge on his hands to Do Something, Feel Something, fades.

They lay there, and the roaring in his ears dulls down enough to hear the beat of Luke's heart against his ear, steady. He holds onto the sound, letting it pull him out of the whirlwind of thoughts, letting it lull him even as his mind fights against the growing calm.

He's still tense with anxiety, and is hyper-aware of every noise in the Patterson residence, but he eventually crisis out, "Hey," and pushes his face further into his friends chest.

For the first time since it started, the humming stops, and Luke shifts his head, landing a brief kiss in Reggie's hair, "Hey."

That's how Reggie falls asleep. Entangled with Luke and still reeling from the panic that ensued from a non-issue.  
But here he's safe and warm and free of silent glares and parental resentment.

With Luke, he's protected against the overwhelming whirlwind his mind tends to fall into.  
With Luke, it's quiet.

**Author's Note:**

> Lol welcome to my vent fic!  
> Sorry Reggie, I gotta project on someone :)  
> This might end up with a second part of them both heading to the studio the next day. With talk about feelings and a band cuddle pile ensuing.
> 
> Written in my phone and only reread once, please lmk if I've missed any errors!
> 
> Enjoy :)


End file.
